February 1, 2001  Florida is
suffering through one of the worst droughts in the state's history
and the seasonal outlook, provided by NOAA's
National Weather Service, holds little hope of immediate
relief. Severe drought
conditions are likely to persist well into the south central
portion of the stateincreasing the danger of wildfires
across most of central Florida. (Click image for larger view.
NOAA satellite image of Florida fires taken Jan. 25, 2001.)

Since the first of the year,
more than 800 Florida wildfires have burned more than 23,000
acres. Most of the fires were quickly contained, but the battle
continues against a major blaze that has burned 3,600 acres along
the Lake-Polk County line near Orlando. Over 75 percent contained,
the fires remain a threat to 900 residences. Drifting smoke has
also created a hazard for motorists driving along portions of
Interstate Highway 4 and U.S. Highway 27.

A Florida Forestry Division
Incident Management Team is on the scene along with 80 firefighters,
15 engines and related firefighting equipment. National Guard
helicopters have also been assisting with fire suppression efforts.

"The governor declared
the continuing wildfire hazard a major disaster threat to the
state of Florida," said Bill Proenza, National
Weather Service Southern Region director. The service's Regional
Operations Center is monitoring the situation daily and providing
priority assistance to Florida's fire control efforts. "We
have our meteorologists providing around-the-clock special forecasts
for the state's fire control teams. In addition, incident meteorologists,
specially trained to provide critical, on-site wildfire weather
forecasting, are ready to go to the fire sites at a moment's
notice," he added.

A cold front pushing into the
Gulf of Mexico brought rain to portions of Florida this week,
but it has had little effect on the state's moisture-starved
northern and central counties. One of the hardest hit regions
is the Tampa
Bay area where a total of 64.17 inches of rainfall was recorded
(at Tampa International Airport) for the two-year period
1999-2000. That represents a deficit of 23.17 inchesmaking
1999-2000 the driest back-to-back calendar years on record. Orlando
experienced a rainfall deficit of 11.04 inches during the same
period.

According to NOAA's
National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., 2000 was
Florida's driest year on record. The Palmer Drought Index indicates
that the current Florida drought, which dates back to April 1998,
is the worst since the 1930s. Abnormally dry to severe drought
conditions also exist throughout Georgia and central and eastern
Alabama, as well as portions of southern and west Texas and southeast
New Mexico. While the seasonal outlook anticipates near normal
rainfall in these regions through April, severe drought conditions
are not expected to be alleviated in Florida.